Nurses receive awards in Waukegan
Vista Health System this named the six winners of its top nursing awards as part of the annual Nurses' Week celebration. The winners represented several different clinical areas of Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan.
• The Patient Choice Award went to Fatuma Adam, R.N., a float nurse. The Patient Choice Award is one of the most prestigious awards at Vista because the nominations come from patients and visitors. Fatuma joined Vista in 2013 and works in all units of the hospital. She was cited in her nominations for her take-charge personality, as well as someone who is especially upbeat, friendly and caring.
Vista also named five Nurse of the Year winners who were nominated by their peers in recognition for outstanding care and service. The winners were:
• Alex Crandell, R.N.: Crandell joined Vista in 2013 and primarily works in the fifth floor Progressive Care Unit while assisting elsewhere as needed.
• Andrea Richards, R.N.: Richards is in the Intensive Care Unit and joined Vista in 2005. She also is an elite open heart nurse in the ICU.
• Johnstone, R.N.: Johnstone works on the third floor pediatric and medical-surgical unit. She has been with Vista for 16 years and previously won Nurse of the Year honors in 2007.
• Hannah Lenz, R.N.: Like Crandell, Lenz is in the PCU and has been with Vista since 2012.
• Nicole Moore, R.N.: Moore works in the Emergency Department and has been with Vista since 2004 where she is a charge nurse.
"We are fortunate to have such an amazing group of nurses at Vista Health System, and I'm very proud of all our nurse award winners for this year," said Barbara Martin, president and chief executive officer of Vista Health System. "Every day, we receive tremendous feedback from patients and their families who tell us about the compassion, skill and dedication of our nurses. Presenting these awards is one of the highlights of the year for me personally and for our nursing leadership at Vista. It's a great way to highlight our annual Nurses' Week celebration."
National Nurses' week 2014 was May 6-12.